John Crichton, 3rd Earl Erne, KP (30 July 1802 – 3 October 1885), was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

peer and politician.

Early life

He was the eldest son of Lt.-Col. Hon. John Creighton, Governor of Hurst Castle and the former Jane Weldon (a daughter of Walter Weldon). His siblings included Maj. Hon. Henry Crichton (who married Elizabeth Hawkshaw), Lt.-Col. Hon. Samuel Crichton, Jane Anne Crichton (wife of Robert Fowler, eldest son of Rt. Rev. Robert Fowler,

Bishop of Ossory . The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but i ...

), Lady Catherine Crichton (wife of the Rev. Francis Saunderson Rural), Lady Helen Crichton, Lady Charlotte Crichton, Lady Mary Crichton (wife of the Rev. John H. King). His paternal grandfather was

John Creighton, 1st Earl Erne John Creighton, 1st Earl Erne, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (1731 – 15 September 1828), known as The Lord Erne between 1772 and 1781 and as The Viscount Erne between 1781 and 1789, was an Ireland, Irish peer and politician. Erne was the eldest ...

(eldest surviving son of Abraham Creighton, 1st Baron Erne) and the former Catherine Howard (sister of The 1st Viscount Wicklow).

Career

In June 1842, he succeeded to the earldom of Erne upon the death of his insane uncle, The 2nd Earl Erne. His uncle Abraham had been an MP for

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

from 1790 to 1797 before he was declared insane in November 1798 and then incarcerated at Brooke House, London, for the next forty years. Abraham had succeeded to the titles upon the death of his father in September 1828. The third earl subsequently changed the spelling of the family name to Crichton. In 1845 he was elected an Irish representative peer in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, where he remained until his death. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of County Fermanagh from 1845 to 1885. Erne was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1868 and in 1876 he was created Baron Fermanagh, of

Lisnaskea Lisnaskea () is the second-biggest settlement in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the townland of Lisoneill, with some areas in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne, both in the civil parish of Aghalurcher and th ...

in the County of Fermanagh, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

. This title gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords. Lord Erne is also remembered as the employer of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Charles Boycott Charles Cunningham Boycott (12 March 1832 – 19 June 1897) was an English land agent whose ostracism by his local community in Ireland gave the English language the term ''boycott''. He had served in the British Army 39th Foot, which br ...

, whose mishandling of relations with agricultural workers on Lord Erne's estate in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

caused a political and public order crisis and provoked the strategy that gave the English language the term to ''

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

''.

Personal life

On 6 July 1837, Lord Erne was married to Selina Griselda Beresford, the second daughter of

The Rev. The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and chur ...

Charles Cobbe Beresford, Rector of

Termonmaguirk Termonmaguirk is a civil parish in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Omagh East, with a small portion in Strabane Upper. The Parish contains the following towns and villages: *Carrickmore * Drumnakilly * L ...

, and Amelia Montgomery (a daughter of

Sir William Montgomery, 1st Baronet Sir William Montgomery, 1st Baronet (9 November 1717 – 25 December 1788) was a Scottish-born politician in Ireland. Biography Montgomery was born in Scotland, the son of William Montgomery of Magbie Hill in Peeblesshire. His family was a cadet b ...

). Together, they were the parents of: * Lady Louisa Anne Catherine Crichton (1838–1866), who died unmarried. * John Henry Crichton, 4th Earl Erne (1839–1914), who married Lady Florence Mary Cole, daughter of The 3rd Earl of Enniskillen. * Hon. Charles Frederick Crichton (1841–1918), who married Lady Madeline Olivia Susan Taylour, eldest daughter of The 3rd Marquess of Headfort and Amelia Thompson (only child of

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

William Thompson), in 1873 * Hon. Sir Henry George Louis Crichton (1844–1922), the '' aide de camp'' to

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

. He married Letitia Grace Cole-Hamilton, third daughter of Maj. Arthur Willoughby Cole-Hamilton in 1869. After her death in 1888, he married Lady Emma Baring, only daughter of The 1st Earl of Northbrook, in 1890. Lord Erne died in October 1885, aged 83, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, who became a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government minister.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, He held 40,000 acres in Fermanagh, Sligo, Donegal and Mayo.The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland
/ref> The National Portrait Gallery holds an 1860 photograph of him by the Camille Silvy Studio: https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/use-this-image/?mkey=mw142314 Also 1860 Camille Silvy studio photos of him and his son Viscount Crichton (future 4th Earl of Erne) and of his wife Selina Griselda Crichton (néé Beresford ) the Countess of Erne :

A circa 1870s portrait of the 3rd Earl (of) Erne 3rd_Earl_Erne

References

External links

* * *
John Crichton, 3rd Earl of Erne (1802-1885), Representative peer and politician
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erne, John Crichton, 3rd Earl 1802 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Anglo-Irish people High sheriffs of County Fermanagh Knights of St Patrick Lord-lieutenants of Fermanagh Irish representative peers Earls Erne Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria